This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Judges Scientific

We'd be surprised if Judges Scientific plc (LON:JDG) shareholders haven't noticed that the Non-Executive Chairman, Alexander Hambro, recently sold UK£141k worth of stock at UK£94.25 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 3.1%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Check out our latest analysis for Judges Scientific

Judges Scientific Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director David Cicurel made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£400k worth of shares at a price of UK£100 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK£94.00 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Notably David Cicurel was also the biggest seller.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 4.02k shares worth UK£402k. On the other hand they divested 7.50k shares, for UK£725k. In total, Judges Scientific insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Judges Scientific

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 3.8% of Judges Scientific shares, worth about UK£24m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Judges Scientific Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Judges Scientific, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Judges Scientific.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.